If the initial announcement wasn\u2019t already shocking enough, the latest photo of Jake Paul standing beside former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has only intensified the disbelief. With such a dramatic gap in experience and pedigree between the two, the image highlights just how enormous the challenge is for Paul \u2014 both figuratively and literally.<\/p>\n
When they step into the ring in Miami on December 19, the stakes couldn\u2019t be more different. Paul arguably benefits most from the terms of the fight. They\u2019ll compete with 10-ounce gloves, Joshua cannot weigh in above 245lbs, and regardless of the result, the 28-year-old\u2019s reputation is unlikely to take any real damage. A clean win would silence years of claims that his fights have been staged, forcing critics to acknowledge his progress and pushing him closer to the unlikely dream of going from influencer to legitimate world title contender.<\/p>\n
For Joshua, however, the matchup carries far more risk than reward. His career is already under scrutiny after being stopped in the fifth round by Daniel Dubois last September. Should Paul hand him a fifth professional defeat, it could effectively end AJ\u2019s career at the top level. Even a dominant victory \u2014 similar to his knockout of Francis Ngannou \u2014 would come with the inevitable backlash that he simply beat a YouTuber.<\/p>\n
Still, the newly surfaced images make one thing clear: if Paul is to pull off a massive upset, he must overcome a steep physical disadvantage. That size gap may well be a major factor in why Joshua agreed to the conditions.<\/p>\n
Jake Paul & Anthony Joshua: Weight Comparison<\/p>\n
Joshua\u2019s 245lb limit should be easy for him to meet \u2014 it\u2019s only 10lbs lighter than his career-heaviest 255lbs, recorded against Jermaine Franklin. Even at that restricted weight, he would still outweigh Paul by a sizeable margin.<\/p>\n
Paul\u2019s highest recorded weight is 227lbs for his bout with 58-year-old Mike Tyson in November 2024. That was 27lbs heavier than he\u2019d been just four months earlier against Mike Perry, and the only time he has ever competed above 200lbs, officially making him a heavyweight. Most recently, he weighed 199lbs for his fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.<\/p>\n
Joshua, meanwhile, has been a true heavyweight throughout his entire 12-year pro career \u2014 a stark contrast to Paul, who has barely spent a year fluctuating around the division\u2019s minimum.<\/p>\n
Recent fight weights:
\nJake Paul: 199lbs (Chavez Jr), 227lbs (Tyson), 200lbs (Perry)
\nAnthony Joshua: 252lbs (Dubois), 252lbs (Ngannou), 200lbs (Wallin)<\/p>\n
Jake Paul & Anthony Joshua: Height Comparison<\/p>\n
On paper, Joshua\u2019s five-inch height advantage should be significant, especially when paired with his longer reach. But Paul will be the shortest opponent Joshua has faced since he stopped six-foot Michael Sprott in 2014. At 6’1″, Paul may force Joshua to adapt tactics he hasn\u2019t relied on in more than a decade. His last three opponents \u2014 Wallin, Ngannou, and Dubois \u2014 were all 6’4″ or taller.<\/p>\n
Punching downward is usually easier than punching upward, which could work in Joshua\u2019s favour. His reach should also make it more difficult for Paul to close the distance \u2014 the very area where Joshua struggled in his losses to Oleksandr Usyk and Andy Ruiz Jr. Still, if Paul mimics Daniel Dubois\u2019 approach and catches Joshua from long range early, that advantage could disappear quickly.<\/p>\n
On paper, Joshua appears to be the overwhelming favourite, thanks to his experience, size, and natural heavyweight frame. But boxing history is full of surprises, and Paul has examples to draw from if he hopes to neutralise Joshua\u2019s strengths. As every seasoned fan knows \u2014 one punch can flip everything on its head.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If the initial announcement wasn\u2019t already shocking enough, the latest photo of Jake Paul standing beside former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has only intensified the disbelief. With such a dramatic gap in experience and pedigree between the two, the image highlights just how enormous the challenge is for Paul \u2014 both figuratively and literally. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":54990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/boxing_jake-paul-vs-anthony-joshua.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54989"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54991,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54989\/revisions\/54991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/54990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}